I am so thrilled, overjoyed, relieved, elated...I took the ASPPA DC-1 exam yesterday and passed! I have been studying and stressing about this test for months. I am so glad it is over and I passed on my first try. I'm also going to get a bonus for passing, so that makes it even sweeter! Now I can prepare for the holidays without all this stress hanging over my head. Whew!

I took Bailey to the vet again on Friday night for an x-ray. It took almost an hour, but the vet finally called me back to an exam room and told me that everything looked fine. His thyroid test also came back normal.

The vet recommended that Bailey get more subcutaneous fluids for at least the next week, but I said, "Look, this is going to get expensive if I have to bring him here every other day for a week to do this. Can you teach me how to give it to him so I can do it at home?"

Five minutes later, I was sticking a needle into the scruff of his neck, and he was NOT happy about it. But it went OK. So I went home with a bag of IV fluid and four needles. Brian and I worked together on Sunday evening and gave him another round of fluids, and since then, Bailey has seemed to perk up a bit.

I was talking to my mom about it (she's a nurse) and she thinks that maybe he was just dehydrated for no apparent reason, and that's why his kidney values were elevated. He's doing much better now, thankfully. This morning, we played with one of the cats' many toy mice, and he was chasing it and batting it around like the old times.

Life is back to normal again. This week I'm returning to the gym--I'd been on a rather extended hiatus, unfortunately, while studying for this exam. No more excuses!

Labels: accomplishments, health, pets, stress